Booman Tribune ~ A Great Night

A Great Night

by BooMan
Tue May 13th, 2008 at 11:39:37 PM EST

Two enormous things happened tonight. First, for the third time in a row, the Democrats won a special election for a formerly Republican seat in the House of Representatives. Travis Childers didn't just win in the MS-01 special election, he drubbed his opponent by 8 points. And this, after the Republicans tried to demonize Childers by tying him to Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi. Here's Obama's response:

"I want to congratulate Congressman-elect Travis Childers on winning this special election. By electing Travis in this traditionally overwhelmingly Republican district, the people of Mississippi voted to end the politics of division and distraction, and bring about real change. This is the third special election in recent months that Democrats have won in traditionally Republican areas -- an unmistakable sign that Americans want to make a clean break from the failed Bush policies of the past - and are not looking for four more years of those failed policies from John McCain. I look forward to working with Travis in the months ahead to fix our economy, and make a difference in the lives of America's hardworking families."

That news is good enough, but we also got great news out of Nebraska, where netroots champion Scott Kleeb crushed all opposition in winning the primary to contest for Chuck Hagel's vacated Senate seat. Sen. Ben Nelson wanted his big business buddy Tony Raimondo to be the candidate, despite the fact that he was a Republican until the day he announced he was a candidate and that the Democrats in the Senate blocked his appointment by Bush to be the manufacturing czar because he closed plants in Nebraska and moved jobs to China.

Both of these outcomes are major victories for the Democrats and major defeats for the business-as-usual Republicans and their appeasers.

I am totally pumped by the election results tonight and could not give less of a shit about the results out of West Virginia.

A Great Night | 27 comments (27 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

What happened to 80% (none / 0)

The Clinton's and their surrogates were touting an 80% win tonight. What happened?

~~~THIS SPACE FOR RENT~~~

by fabooj (fabooj [at} mail [dot} com) on Tue May 13th, 2008 at 11:55:02 PM EST

Re: What happened to 80% (none / 1)

They screwed up again but I agree with Booman that the other races mean much more tonight. This is fantastic news for this coming November!!!

Doing My Part For The Left

by refinish69 (refinish69 at gmail dot com) on Tue May 13th, 2008 at 11:57:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What happened to 80% (none / 0)

What happened?

They only managed to convince 66% of voters that Obama was a radical black Muslim who would eat their children and replace the bald eagle with a WuTang sign as our national symbol. They would've grabbed the extra fourteen percent, but they didn't have the money for the travel.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to you country.

by Drew J Jones (blahblahblah@blahblahblah.com) on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 12:08:01 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What happened to 80% (none / 0)

And don't forget, Michelle's an athiest! WuTang sign... LOL

by Sprocket77 on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 12:30:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What happened to 80% (none / 0)

What happened?

They forgot how to count months ago.

by RandyH on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 12:13:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What happened to 80% (none / 0)

Is this a joke? Can you site where Clinton predicted 80%?

Clinton won West Virginia by a better than 2 to 1 margin and you're actually trying to spin it that she fell short of expectations?

Obama got 26% of the vote.

John Edwards, who dropped out of the race months ago, got 7%.

Obama's gonna have problems in the fall campaign. Even if the Republicans nominate McCain, who may just be the worst candidate I've ever seen.

by Ed J on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 05:52:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What happened to 80% (none / 0)

Bill Clinton had said that the victory could be 'by 80%'. On MSNBC last night, Olbermann and Matthews discussed whether his wording meant 80/20 or 90/10.

by ask on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 06:19:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A Great Night (none / 1)

I'm at least a little bit proud to be a Missi'ppian tonight (it's okay, not too proud!). The GOP is in the fetal position sucking its collective thumbs over this one. This is a portentous catastrophe for them. Obama was associated with Childers, endorsement or not. The NRCC made sure of it and spent a small fortune in the doing. I feel good about November and I don't give a half-assed damn about what the Republicans or any parties allied with them try to pull. A change is gonna come.

by Sprocket77 on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 12:20:17 AM EST

Re: A Great Night (none / 0)

I could be wrong, but I think they (the NRCC) spent something like 1/3 of their total cash on this race. If that's so and they STILL did this badly, how much money do they stand to raise for the fall?

Hehehehehe!

by RandyH on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 12:28:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A Great Night (none / 0)

They are in the shit hole, my friend. The Congressional races look bad on the whole, money-wise, I gotta believe. Magoo's gonna be selling magazine subscriptions (probably to the Nation) door-to-damn-door to raise money, I bet. And I just read poor Liddy Dole's lookin' to get her clock cleaned -- and that has nothing to do with Bob and his viagra. Things are indeed looking bad in Bush country.

by Sprocket77 on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 12:37:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A Great Night (none / 0)

Can you give us more insight into Childers' victory? It appears to be fueled by anti-Bush sentiment, but what segments of the population supported him? Independents, crossover Republicans? Demographics? I'd like to know how this differed from Obama's dismal showing in WV.

by Heart of the Rockies on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 09:36:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A Great Night (none / 1)

The first district of Mississippi hugs the Tennessee border and then fills out the northeastern part of the state. It's the one district in Mississippi that Obama lost, and he lost it very badly. Some of these counties gave Hillary in the high 70's of their vote. It's the whitest district in Mississippi, and also the most conservative. It's actually part of Appalachia, the furthest south district that qualifies, although part of the Scots-Irish diaspora continues west into the Ozarks and on into Oklahoma, before skipping in Grapes of Wrath fashion to California.

What is most significant is that these voters did not respond to efforts to tie the Democrat to national leaders like Obama and Pelosi. What that means is that the people there may not like Obama and Pelosi but they don't fear them enough to back a failed political party.

by BooMan on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 09:56:04 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A Great Night (none / 1)

Great little primer there, BooMan. And for me, the clincher too, is that these overwhelmingly white, highly conservative Mississippians didn't take the (race) bait, given that some of the TV ads run against Childers featured Jeremiah Wright as much as Childers -- some were jaw-droppingly nasty, I've heard. I think some shadow groups like "Freedom Watch" were involved, too. And again, Childers is a pro-life, pro-gun, economic populist Dem, but he's on the whole a decent guy, sounds like. And at this point, it's about draining as many R's out of Congress as possible. That's the name of the game -- particular votes we can worry about later.

by Sprocket77 on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 10:56:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A Good Night, a Great Night (none / 0)

Why am I feeling so happy? Perhaps, this dark, dark rethuglican night is about to end and a democratic dawn is about to happen. Viva Childers, viva Kleeb, viva Obama.

:) :) :) ;) :) :) :) :)

Democrats help the poor, republicans make them more impoverished.

Suppose you scrub your ethical skin until it shines, but inside there is no music, then what? Kabir

by Daredevil Don on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 12:40:39 AM EST

Dana Milbank owes you one, Boo (none / 1)

Looks like he was rifling through your old posts and came up with something "original". From his brand spanking new article:

Customer: "Look, matey, I know a dead parrot when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now."
Pet-shop owner: "No, no he's not dead, he's -- he's resting! Remarkable bird, the Norwegian blue, isn't it, aye? Beautiful plumage!"
-- From "Monty Python's Flying Circus"
11:45 a.m., Melrose Hotel, Foggy Bottom: It's Day 7 of the Clinton Campaign Death Watch -- a full week since the official arbiter of the Democratic primary, Tim Russert, declared the campaign over and Barack Obama the nominee. Hillary Clinton's advisers continue to insist that the candidate's prospects are very much alive, but the press isn't buying it. Exhibit A: There are two press buses waiting at the hotel here for Clinton's trip to her victory rally in West Virginia, but the entire press contingent doesn't quite fill one. It isn't until the entourage arrives at Dulles Airport that Clinton aides learn that the second bus is still idling, empty, at the hotel.

If I were you, I'd demand 75% of whatever he got for re-writing your post.

~~~THIS SPACE FOR RENT~~~

by fabooj (fabooj [at} mail [dot} com) on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 01:13:08 AM EST

Re: Dana Milbank owes you one, Boo (none / 0)

And the really cool thing for a Python-worshipping fool like myself, is that John Cleese, who wrote the dead parrot sketch (along with the late Graham Chapman) and who lives in California now, is a bleedin' Obama supporter!

"I am due to come to Europe in November but I may be tied up until then because if Barack Obama gets the nomination I'm going to offer my services to him as a speechwriter because I think he is a brilliant man..."

Media types were also using the Pythons' 'Black Knight' bit from Holy Grail ("It's just a flesh wound") to describe Hillary's mortally wounded candidacy. It's a good time to be an Obama supporter and a Python fan it seems.

by Sprocket77 on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 10:23:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A Great Night (none / 0)

Couldn't agree more. If tonight is any indication, the Democratic Party is in for a very good year indeed.

I for one welcome our new Twitter overlords. @Omir55

by Omir the Storyteller (omir.the.storyteller -CAT- gmail -DOG- com) on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 03:07:31 AM EST

Re: A Great Night (none / 0)

What's that sound ?
Everybody look what's goin' down.

Echoing echo at Hullabaloo.

by Alice on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 06:04:05 AM EST

Re: A Great Night (none / 0)

That's great news.
Weren't you saying that the MS election is a real bellwether for the GOP.

They must be pooping bricks right now.

John Mccain Called his wife WHAT??

by brendan on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 07:34:52 AM EST

Re: A Great Night (none / 0)

So I will be the wet blanket. One in five voters that voted for Hill openly stated that the O mans' RACE was the factor that made them decide to vote for Hill!
So, you may not give a shit about the WVA vote but you better!Racism is alive and well in this country Boo and if you don't think that will matter in the fall, you are out of your mind!
Now, in addition, sure, Childers won- YEA- one more BLUE DOG DEM in the House! Bravo. We can definite count on that vote!
Should we expect a request for funds for him? Watch the spin folks. Watch the spin!

by billjpa (billjpa@aol.com) on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 07:49:58 AM EST

Re: A Great Night (none / 0)

So Billjpa, are you suggesting that the entire country should be held hostage by a group of racists in the fall? That we should reward a losing campaign (and make no mistake, that's what second place is in politics) that's in substantial debt (after starting $100 million ahead) with a place on the ticket in the fall? Do you not remember that Bill Clinton himself failed to win a majority of white voters in WVA?

What about Hillary's leadership of her own campaign suggests she would do a good job of running the campaign? She made bad hiring choices, has run a divisive campaign worthy of Karl of Rove, and can't manage her own money. Why should anyone put her in charge of hiring an administration, making judicial appointments, and managing the US budget? Where has this vaunted experience of hers done her any good?

BTW, I feel bad for the good and decent people in WVA who have been tarred with the whole media/blogosphere "All West Virginians are racist" meme. It sucks.

by CabinGirl on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 08:00:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A Great Night (none / 0)

About the WV Obama voters: It's the same all over. There are a lot of great people in WV who voted for Obama, just not enough. There are decent people of good political and social conscience everywhere. But the good get lumped in with the dumbasses. It's not fair, but again, being from MS, I'm somewhat inured to it -- mostly.

by Sprocket77 on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 10:31:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A Great Night (none / 0)

Agreed. I'm sure there are plenty of West Virginians we'd love to hang out with.

The state has a population drain of the young and the educated and the ambitious, just like western Pennsylvania and much of Ohio, and it now has the second largest percentage (after Florida, but WVA's elderly aren't moving there for golden years) of residents over age 65.

So the state's got a disproportionate share of people still stuck in their paranoid ways, like the cranky old uncle everyone knows. Times will change, as they have elsewhere.

by Joyful Alternative on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 11:21:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A Great Night (none / 0)

Fear not - next week it'll be my turn to explain the votes of the hillbillies hereabouts. Obama will do well in Louisville, but once you leave Jefferson county it'll probably be 3-1 or 4-1 Hillary if the polls are indeed accurate.

The Underground Railroad

by Oscar In Louisville on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 06:22:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A Great Night (none / 0)

That sounds about right. Queen Hillary basking in her element. Damn but those hillbillies are an irksome lot!

by Sprocket77 on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 10:04:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A Great Night (none / 0)

where do you get the idea that I am suggesting that we should vote for Hill? All I am saying is that for anyone to disregard the idea that racism in this country is going to have little affect in November is to make a fatal mistake. Don't put words in my mouth. Open your eyes and get this clear!
When 1 in 5 voters OPENLY state that they included the race of a competitor when deciding who to vote for, there is a hell of a big problem!
Open up your eyes and try and get a grip on this simple question- if there is a relatively large group of voters willing to openly express their racism, how many good citizens are there that won't openly speak their twisted truth?

by billjpa (billjpa@aol.com) on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 02:32:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: A Great Night (none / 0)

Surely you're not serious. You really think we should be concerned by the results of a tiny, backwards state that elected a Klansman to the Senate, and that only survives with coal and federal highway money?

"Lord Almighty, he lost West Virginia. What's he going to do in November when he doesn't have all those latte-drinking blacks to bail him out in Iowa and New Mexico?!"

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to you country.

by Drew J Jones (blahblahblah@blahblahblah.com) on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 08:29:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]

A Great Night | 27 comments (27 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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